Children Please
by HiddenEye
Summary: Marinette Dupain-Cheng: Student, Heroine, Fashion Designer, and full time Babysitter when it came to her close friends.
1. Part 1

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to their respectful owners.

A/N: Another story ayyyyy I had been thinking of doing this for AGES you have no idea. Enjoy!

* * *

"Marinette!"

Said girl grinned when Manon came swooping towards her the moment she stepped out of the car, her small pink backpack jiggled as Marinette met her half way from the entrance of the bakery, wrapping her arms around the small girl.

"Hey there, Manon!" She greeted cheerfully, bopping her nose that the younger girl giggled. "You've grown so much taller than the last time I last saw you."

Manon puffed her chest proudly, propping Her hands on her hips. "I've grown five centimetres taller, I'm a big girl now."

She did, and it surprised Marinette that Manon had grown so fast when the last time she saw her was around a month ago.

Then, Manon's mother rolled down the window of the car, a grateful smile lit up her face as Marinette stood. "Sorry for the short notice, Marinette, this meeting is last minute and I didn't have anyone else to look after her at the moment."

Marinette waved it away, a laugh escaping Her lips. "That's ok, I'm free anyway," She was actually sewing a dress for her mother's friend since this morning, but she could use a lunch break here and then, the dress wasn't needed until next month anyway. "Good luck on your meeting!"

Manon's mother waved her hand, before she shot off as the window rolled up.

Marinette looked down to Manon, who was already pulling her towards the bakery with a skip in her steps, her ponytails bouncing behind her as she did so. "Come on, Marinette! I need to show you my new Barbie, she's a model."

Marinette chuckled, swinging their hands a little as she pushed the door open, the silver bells tinkling above their heads. "Is she now?"

Manon nodded enthusiastically. "Yep! She has some new fancy clothes, but all of them are pink." There was a frown on her brows, dissapointed with the limited amount of colour that was given to her. Marinette thought it was a bit ridiculous to only give pink clothes towards a model Barbie, but then, it could be the theme for model Barbie, she wasn't one to judge a doll. Then again, she was determined to make Manon feel better about it.

She ruffled Manon's hair affectionately, her mind already reeling with ideas that could be made from the left over cloth she kept, all tucked in a box at the corner of the table. "How about I make some clothes for your new Barbie? With all the colours she needs for her wardrobe that no Barbie ever had before."

Manon gasped, her eyes bright with happiness that Marinette couldn't help but grin widely at the reaction as they threaded up the stairs. "Yes please! Barbie would be the most famous model ever!"

Marinette giggled. "I bet she would."

* * *

The next day, as Marinette was sitting at her desk, sketching some possible ideas for the doll to use as her clothes, Alya plopped down beside her, sighing as she slammed her books on the table that Marinette jumped at the sudden loud sound, blinking at her best friend in confusion.

"What's wrong?" She asked as Alya propped her chin onto the back of her arms, pouting slightly.

"My sisters," Alya grumbled, blowing away a stray curl from her eye. "They're in that phase where they're curious on make up, and guess who's cosmetics they decided to raid?"

Marinette winced, knowing the price wasn't exactly cheap. "Ouch."

"Yep," Alya sighed, pointing a finger towards herself. "Yours truly. And they _had_ to use the new ones, those still in wrappers, why couldn't they just use what I have on the dresser, only god knows."

Marinette petted her head in pity as Alya let out another frustrated sigh, closing her book as she gave her best friend her full attention. "At least I know what to get you for Christmas."

Alya smirked. "Nah, just give me those Miu Miu shoes and I'll love you forever more," She held up her hand as she counted off from her fingers. "You can bake, you can sew, and you're loveable as heck. If no one's calling dibs, I'll just sweep you off your feet as we ride into the sunset in our golden carriage with our white horses pulling us towards paradise."

Marinette puckered her lips as she made it look as if she was considering on the offer. "I don't know," She drawled, tapping the pencil on her chin. "It's a bit too much, don't you think?"

"What's a bit too much?"

The question came from Nino as he and Adrien sat at their seats, looking mildly interested in their conversation as they turned around to face them.

"We were talking about our escapee to the land of dreams where we'll be getting married," Alya replied with a wiggle of her eyebrows, causing Nino to snort out a laugh. "And you guys are too late, I called dibs first."

Nino gave a pout at Marinette as Adrien chuckled under his breath. "Oh man, I was about to ask your hand in marriage because you make the best pastries one could ask for."

Adrien clicked his tongue at his friend. "Marrying a woman for her cooking is so low."

Nino patted his stomach. "At least she'll make me happy, right Marinette?" He gave a wink, to which she laughed.

"Sorry, Alya called dibs," She commented cheekily as she wrapped an arm around Alya, to which the red head showed her tongue playfully towards the boys.

"Yeah boys, she's mine."

Both of Adrien's eyebrows shot up, a grin stretched across his lips. "Possessive much?"

"What's wrong, lover boy?" Alya replied without missing a beat, laughing at the way his grin twitched into a smirk at the nickname. "Jealous?"

He slid his eyes to Marinette, and she could feel the heat crawled up her neck as she met his eyes, full of mirth that it actually glowed with familiarity that she wasn't able to pinpoint to. The smirk didn't fall as he wiggled his eyebrows at her, and she thought she was going to spontaneously burst at the action.

"Maybe."

Then, Mme. Mendeleieve walked inside, effectively ending the conversation as the boys faced forward, and Marinette subconsciously leaned onto Alya as a breath escaped her lips while her heart raced, where her best friend gave a squeeze around her waist in silent applause for not being a total mess in front of Adrien.

"I'm so proud of you," Alya declared quietly as her eyes lit up teasingly, and Marinette poked her waist that Alya let go of her, chuckling under her breath.

Lessons were done, homework was given, all of them went out for a lunch break, as Alya talked animatedly about her progress in the Ladyblog as Marinette listened on, where they sat on their normal bench as Marinette took out her sketchbook, taking a bite of an eclair she brought in the box as she continued where she left off.

But then, Adrien's smirk still lingered in her mind, how familiar it actually looked that she couldn't help but notice that it had the same tilt as her partner in crime. It was ridiculous, of course, to actually compare the flirtatious feline with one of her sweet friends, or rather, _crush_ , but he doesn't know that, and it was better if he doesn't anyway. She didn't want to destroy the blooming friendship they currently had. After a year of trying to form a sentence to him, she managed to talk to him properly without falling onto her own tongue once in a while, albeit that sometimes, she still stuttered.

"Oh, what's that?" Alya peeked down at the dress she was designing, a simple off shoulders number with indigo as its colour. "Did someone order another one?"

Marinette shook her head, a smile peeking at her lips when she remembered Manon's enthusiasm. "Some dresses for Manon's Barbie, she's a little bummed that model Barbie had only pink as her clothes, so I'm making one for every colour of the rainbow," She held up the book to look at it at a different angle, and was satisfied at how it turned out. "Different designs for each of course."

" _And_ you're good with kids," Alya sighed dreamily, clasping her hands under her chin as she fluttered her eye lashes. "Dream come true."

Marinette shoved her playfully as Alya snickered. "Tease."

"And you love me."

Marinette rolled her eyes, before going back to her sketchbook. "Apparently."

Alya plucked another eclair from the box between them, taking a bite. "Anyway, the blog is actually going well, new followers every day and they're so nice about it too. And-"

Then there was a screech, causing both Alya and Marinette to leap to their feet as they saw the Akuma stalking up the stairs of the school, her hands glowed green as her face twisted into a snarl, a purple butterfly outlined her face.

"They called me a _kid_ ," The Akuma sneered at she raised her hand, aiming it towards the group of students who were too frozen in shock to move to realise that they were in danger. "I'll show you who's the kid here."

With a zap of green, the students that stood there were gone.

And in their places, were toddlers sitting on the ground in confusion.

Their clothes shrunk with their size, the baby fat had appeared once again around their faces and body as they tried to stand with wobbly legs, complete gibberish poured out of their mouths when they tried to communicate with anyone near them, even if the other party was too distracted at their bags they dropped when they were shot. Some tried to stand, some tried to walk, in the end they were just children who were helpless to do anything at the moment and Marinette had to do something _now_.

She was about to tell Alya to run when she found out that the journalist was gone, and Marinette swivelled around in worry as she tried to find her best friend, only to find her disappearing in their classroom where the Akuma had gone, chasing after the Akuma to no doubt post a new video at the Ladyblog as the sound of shouting could be heard from where Marinette stood.

God, she was going into trouble _again_.

"Marinette!"

She looked down, and saw Tikki poking her head out of her purse, eyes widen with worry. "We have to transform now!"

Marinette nodded, and quickly ran towards the toilet, where she slammed the door closed as Tikki flew in front of her face.

Once she felt the mask on her face, she bursted out of the room, hauling herself up the stairs as she landed neatly in front of her classroom, where the hinges of the door had been teared from the wall as it hung loosely on its bolts and nails, showing her the back of the Akuma as she cornered someone with her arm raised in front of her, the green magic swirling dangerously around her body that it imitated a glow.

Ladybug realised with a start that it was Alya, Nino, and Adrien, their backs pressed onto the wall in horror as the Akuma took a step menacingly towards them.

"I'm not a _kid_ ," She told them venomously, flexing her fingers that the green glow started to become brighter. "No one can tell me what to do."

Ladybug quickly swung her yo-yo forward, wrapping it around the Akuma's wrist and tugged it with all her might, sending the Akuma flying backwards at the sudden force.

"Then you shouldn't act like one," Ladybug stated easily as the Akuma looked up, her eyes filled with fury when she saw who disturbed her havoc.

"I am _not_!" The Akuma screeched as she shot green energy at Ladybug with the other hand, and Ladybug quickly jumped out of the way as she landed on one of the desks, before bounding off again when that desk busted into splinters the second she got off. "I'm _Adolescent_ , I'm not some snotty _child_!"

Ladybug avoided every beam that was shot at her, jumping and somersaulting all over the room that it was starting to turn into a war zone. "A child doesn't throw a tantrum, kid," She retorted, wanting to cringe at how Chat-like she sounded at the moment.

It was then she realised that her partner had yet to show himself.

"Chat," She muttered under her breath, just barely missing the beam as she tried to find where the akuma was hiding, since the girl had loads of rings slipped onto her fingers and there were numerous studded earrings punctured in her ears, and the bracelets she wore weren't helping the matter either. "Anytime would be fine now."

She was so focused on finding the akuma that she didn't notice the mistake she did by jumping in front of her friends, who were watching the fight in awe, before Adrien screamed at her.

" _Ladybug_ -!"

He didn't get to finish his sentence when suddenly, the flash of green hit the three of them, and Marinette watched in horror as they transformed into miniature versions of themselves, all wide eyed and shorten limbs as they sat on the floor while looking around in confusion.

 _Oh no_.

"Adrien!"

With a surge of anger that ran through her veins she felt for the akuma, she dove towards Adolescent, feeling her face twisting into a snarl. Wrapping her arms around the Akuma tightly, they rolled on the ground as Ladybug gripped the Akuma's shoulders and pushed her down, where Adolescent's head collided with the fallen desk that she was knocked out cold as they slid to a halt.

Ladybug looked down at Adolescent, breathing heavily as she noticed that the victim was no more than twelve years old, so young and full of negativity that it made Ladybug's skin crawl with unease. And she couldn't help but feel guilty that she let her head hit the desk, and reached up to push Adolescent's head to the side to find any blood.

There wasn't.

She stood up, and immediately turned her attention towards her now much younger friends.

They were still sitting there, their clothes as well as accessories had shrunk to their size, fitting them perfectly as they had when they were much taller and older. Alya was babbling animatedly at the two boys, who were watching her with concentration as if she was telling them this great adventure she had, and Ladybug realised that particular situation was pretty much the same as they have always been whenever all of them were together.

"Ladybug?"

She turned towards the voice, where several police officers were standing stiffly by the entrance, slightly unsure what to do as their eyes darted from the heroine to the knocked out Adolescent on the floor, wariness growing in them as they looked at the villain.

"Bring her out of here and make sure she doesn't go away," Ladybug informed the police as she made her way slowly towards her friends, where the toddlers were watching her with awe at the lady in red and black polka dots coming towards them. "I still haven't found out how to change her back to normal, so I need her to not make a rampage around the whole city when I do. Also, her victims," She paused as she crouched down beside Nino, gesturing to her friends as emphasis. "Well, they've became significantly younger."

The police officer nodded his head as two of his teammates took hold of Adolescent's arms, dragging her out of the room. "Alright, she'll be at the station if you ever need her. And we'll try connecting the victims' parents, see if they could pick their kids up."

Ladybug nodded, giving him a grateful smile. "Thank you, officer."

He tilted his cap, before walking out of the room.

Then, she turned towards the toddlers, where Alya stood up and flung herself onto Ladybug's legs, her smile wide as she beamed.

"Ladybug!"

Ladybug smiled as the two boys wrapped their arms around each of hers, the three of them effectively pinning her to the ground as they started to babble at full speed, words tangled together that she had a hard time giving her full attention by listening to them all at once.

She chuckled, grazing Adrien's cheek with a finger before a sudden thought crashed onto her like a ton of bricks, making her frown as she looked down to all of them.

"Just how am I going to take you three home?"


	2. Part 2

A/N: Mama Marinette is here to save the day, where babies can be her weakness, especially blonde and green eyed ones.

* * *

In the end, she took them to her house.

She couldn't swing from one roof to another while carrying three toddlers in her arms, that was a big fat no-no if she didn't want her friends drop to death from several feet above the ground. And they were particularly bouncing, like balls of energy as they talked all the way home, no way was she going to risk that when they were equivalent to rubber balls being thrown on walls.

So she transformed back to Marinette as they made their way home.

She held tightly into Alya and Adrien's hand, Nino holding onto Alya's other hand as the two of them chattered away happily, swinging their arms once in a while as they laughed, seemingly looking happy that Marinette didn't had to worry much.

She glanced down at the blonde haired boy, who was quiet the whole time ever since they started walking. Blonde hair looked absolutely fluffy and soft under the sunlight, his green eyes peered around curiously as he watched people walked past as his small hand clutched onto her fingers tightly, as if a bit wary at the surroundings around him.

She couldn't help but let out an internal squeal at how adorable he looked, wanting nothing more than to squeeze those cheeks. But she shook her head slightly, pursing her lips. _He'll run away from you and would call you a crazy lady, and what if he remembers this later?_

She would never come out of her room.

She pushed the door when they reached the bakery, and her mother was at the counter wiping the surface when she saw her daughter bringing in three children with her, and then she blinked.

"Marinette?" Sabine asked tentively, eyeing the children as Marinette let them wonder around the shop, tip toeing to see the delicious deserts. "I haven't become a grandmother yet, have I?"

A strip of pink graced her cheeks as she kissed her mother on the cheek in greeting. " _Mama_ ," She protested, laughing as she did so. "They're my friends," At her mother's blank look, she gave a smile. "Alya, Nino and Adrien."

Sabine gasped, walking towards Nino as she crouched to his level, where he blinked at her in surprise as she took his face in her hands that his glasses became crooked. "What happened to them?"

Marinette gently pried Alya's fingers from playing with the tongs that hung beside the counter as she thought of ways to answer her mother without revealing much. "A villain called Adolescent changed people to toddlers, and I managed to avoid it while Ladybug tried to stop her, but they weren't so lucky so," She trailed off, watching Adrien took an interest at the multicoloured macaroon mountain on one of the displays, blinking owlishly at it as he grinned so widely that her heart was buzzing at the sight.

"Did Ladybug and Chat Noir managed to catch the villain?" Sabine wondered as she straightened herself up.

Marinette shook her head. "No, if they did, they would be back to normal."

She couldn't help but feel the nagging feeling at the back of her mind when Chat didn't show up for the attack, even when Adolescent was handcuffed in the police car. Where was he? Why didn't he showed up? Surely he would know now since it's out in the news, and yet she hadn't seen him leaping through the rooftops like he always had, making a bravado of his entrance as he always would.

And she had to negotiate Adolescent at the police station as soon as possible, try finding where the akuma would be hidden under all those jewellery.

"Have you contacted their parents?"

She winced. "Not yet," Sure, it was easy to call Alya and Nino's parents, they were regulars to the bakery and she had known them for as long as she could remember.

But to actually inform _Gabriel Agreste_...

 _Well._

That was something she would think about for a long while.

"I'll bring them to my room first, at least until the mess dies down," She told her mother as she took hold of Alya's hand, walking towards the stairs. "And then I'll call their parents. Nino, Adrien, let's go."

The boys came tottering to her at her call, tiny feet making pattering sounds on the floor as all of them heaved up the stairs, the three toddlers holding onto the railings for support.

Once they arrived at their destination, Marinette took out the toys she kept for Manon and other children whenever she had babysitting duty, along with some colour pencils, crayons, and papers to make themselves occupied as she was going to make some calls to their parents.

"Colour pencils!" Nino cheered as he took them from her, happily sitting in the middle of her room and started drawing on the spot. He looked up to her, giving her a big smile. "Thank you."

She chuckled, tapping his cap lightly as Alya joined beside him, humming as she lay on her stomach while gripping the red colour pencil. "You're welcome."

Marinette saw that Adrien was searching through the toy box, and she took that moment to study him properly from where she sat beside Alya

He was quiet even when he was a kid, the only time that he did say something when she was Ladybug and latching onto her arms, babbling along with Nino and Alya. Other than that, when she was talking to the police, the three of them were sitting quietly on one of the benches, looking quite scared to see all the adults bustling here and there while there were other toddlers who were sobbing for their parents.

It was obvious that they had the mannerisms and the thoughts of a normal child the moment they were transformed, with no memory of their older selves that they would remember, other than the people in it. She was glad though, after she transformed in the school bathroom again, that they were able to recognise her as Marinette, because as she was playing distress at the police officers, they lit up when they saw her.

She told the police that she was a friend of the three toddlers who became victims to the Akuma, saying that she would bring them home to their parents because they were close friends. In the end, the police agreed, and she brought them to her house without so much a whine from all of them.

Adrien took out a couple black cat ears from the box, fascinated at it for a moment before trying it on. Marinette realised with a giggle that those were something she bought for Manon to wear out of pure amusement, since it reminded Marinette of Chat Noir and the fact that Manon was a huge fan of him. With satisfaction glowing on his face, Adrien stumbled his way towards them, taking a paper and some crayons for himself as he too started drawing.

They were so _adorable_.

They were so concentrated and occupied with their work they didn't see the red kwami making herself comfortable on Marinette's shoulder, a small squeal escaping her lips. "They're so cute!"

Marinette giggled, standing up as she sat on her chair, getting out her homework. "They are," She paused, before a mischievous smile crossed her lips. "You think I should take a picture?"

Tikki flew to the table, already pulling onto Marinette's phone. "Go for it."

Unknown to them, the moment their backs were turned from the toddlers, another kwami with the colour of the night flew from Adrien's jacket, where the boy was startled for a moment as he watched the black thing zoomed across the room and crashed itself under a cushion, hiding its presence from everyone.

He blinked once, before going back to his colouring.

* * *

It turned out that Marinette had to babysit them throughout the whole day.

Their parents couldn't come because of work, at least Alya and Nino's parents were at work, and she had yet to call the Agreste residence to talk about Adrien's condition, where he would probably have a slight break from his modelling carrier due to his insufficient size and inability to walk properly on the cat walk without stumbling and tottering everywhere he went, those cat ears still on his head.

Which was _very_ cute by the way, and she was still tempted to scoop him up and kiss him all over the face.

But now it seemed as if the children were starting to get bored.

"I'm bored," Alya tugged onto her sleeve, the art supply and empty plates from their snacks left abandoned in the middle of the clearing as the boys were playing with the cars they found at the bottom of the box.

Marinette blinked blearily after hours of hunching over her school work, and a yawn broke pass her lips as she stretched her arms above her head. She glanced over at clock, where it was already starting to get late.

"Well, it's almost night time, we can't go out to the park now," She stated as she propped her elbow on the desk, resting her cheek on the palm of her hand. "How about we do something else while waiting for your mum to come?"

As if on cue, Sabine called from downstairs about Alya's parents' arrival.

The four of them came bustling down the stairs, and Alya's parents were shocked to see their teenage girl had became younger, where she came running towards them that her father caught her when she jumped onto him. Marinette explained what she could to them, and they bid their thanks and goodbye before they left.

It took her a moment before she called after them again.

"I could take care of her of you want," Marinette told them when they turned around. She gave a sheepish smile. "I, uh, work part time as a babysitter, and since it's the weekend tomorrow, I'll be free then."

Alya's mother seemed to sigh in relief, before nodding with a smile. "Thank you, both of our timetables would be packed tomorrow, we couldn't leave her with her sisters just yet."

Marinette nodded as she grinned. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

A few minutes later, Nino parents came along and brought him back with them, thanking profusely for her help as she made the same favour with them, to which they agreed before they too left.

Which only left her with Adrien.

She watched him from where she was leaning back as she used her arms as support, where he was taking one of the few children books she kept and started reading to himself.

Pursing her lips, she glanced down to the phone beside her, tapping her finger on the floor as the thought of calling his house rolled in her mind, where Nathalie would most likely answer the phone and demand him where he was. Adrien's driver would most likely come to pick him up, leaving him sitting quietly and lonely at the back sit of the limo with no one to entertain him, since Marintte knew that his father was at Rome to attend work there.

Somehow, it didn't feel right to leave him alone.

But, someone from his house _had_ to know.

Tikki was thinking the same thoughts from her spot on her shoulder. "You should do it."

Marinette sighed, running her face with her hand as she straightened up. "I know, Tikki, but Nathalie won't believe me if I called her. Or she would think this is some stupid prank."

Tikki giggled, patting Marinette's cheek. "Well, she can't say much about it to _Ladybug_ , can she?"

A ghost of a smirk passed her lips. "True," She paused. "Do you think it would be okay if I transformed in front of him, Tikki? Would he remember this?"

Tikki was silent for a while, before she let out a small breath. "Maybe, maybe not, we're not too sure. Usually the people who were corrupted by the Akuma would forget what they did, but as for the victims of the Akuma itself, well, it usually depends on how strong the Akuma would be."

Marinette sighed again. "So, no?"

"For the best."

Then, Adrien surprised Marinette by sitting beside her, making himself comfortable as the kwami hid out of sight.

Marinette smiled, her heart bubbling with joy. "Hey there Adrien, what do you have there?"

He shrugged. "A book."

"Oh, what's it about?"

"Winnie the Pooh."

Ah, good ol' Winnie.

To her surprise, he snuggled towards her, his hair tickling her arm as he leaned onto it. Hesitatingly, she pulled it from under his weight to wrap it around his shoulders, bringing him closer to her, where he started to turn the pages of the books as he hummed the theme song under his breath.

She leaned forward and pressed her lips against the top of his head, her heart getting heavy all of a sudden. "I have to bring you home, Adrien."

He looked up at her, pure childlike confusion etched on his face. "Why?"

She gave a small smile. "Because someone would be worried about you."

He didn't seem convinced at her statement, as if he was doubtful that anyone was waiting for him in that mansion of a house. She knew of course, that his relationship with his father wasn't as smooth as she had with her father, but to think that at this age he still remembered the condition of his house was somewhat alarming.

"But I want to stay with you," He ejected, a small frown on his brow. "You're nice."

She felt the heat on her cheeks at the compliment, knowing how truthful a child can be. "But people would be worried, Adrien, and they would probably think you've gone missing since it's late now."

His frown deepened, before looking down to his book. "There's only Nathalie."

Her heart clenched at the words, before running her fingers through his hair in sympathy. Then, an idea came to mind. "How about you come to my house tomorrow with Alya and Nino? We'll have fun together, we can even bake if you want to."

His eyes lit up when he looked at her, the starting of a grin growing at the corner of his lips. "Really?"

She nodded. "Mm-hm. But first," She bopped his nose, where he scrunched it the moment her finger made contact that she giggled. "We have to get you home. I have a friend who can get you there."

He blinked at her. "Who?"

She untangled herself from him, standing up as she made her way to the trap door. "I'll call her right now."

Once she was outside, Tikki flew out of her purse and winked at her before Marinette was transformed into Ladybug, jumping into her room again as she crouched onto her bed while he scrambled to stand up, his eyes wide as the grin on his face came out full force.

"Ladybug!"

It's a miracle really -oh, the _puns_ \- that Ladybug would still be remembered even if they were turned into tiny people.

She waved, before making her way towards him. "Hey there Adrien, Marinette told me that you needed a ride."

He nodded enthusiastically. "Uh-huh," Then, he looked up toward the trap door. "Is she still up there?"

 _Ah crap_. Ladybug laughed nervously. "She already went down through another door, she said you'll see her tomorrow."

He nodded, and she took that as a cue to pick him up, offering her arms towards him.

His gaze flickered from her hands to her face, and he bashfully walked into them, letting her carry him as she settled him on her hip, making their way towards the trap door again, letting the cool air ruffle their hair as she shut it behind her.

"Hold on tight." She murmured into his hair, and once she felt him have a firmer grip on her, she swung from her balcony and into the night.


	3. Part 3

A/N: ...hi

SO, it's been weeks since I updated this and here you go! I finally did it, and that's a achievement, since chaptered stories have always been somewhat hard for me(because I am a terrible author when it comes to updating forgive me)

Enjoy! :D

* * *

She was prepared for an army of akumas coming her way.

She was prepared for the never ending horror of homework.

Hell, she was even prepared for Hawkmoth coming out of the dark while riding on this very large moth as little butterflies swarmed behind him, cackling in all his purple glory.

But what Ladybug wasn't prepared for was those big doe eyes Adrien managed to muster up when he looked up to her from Nathalie's side (Ladybug was surprised to see that the assistant was able to handle the situation quite well, at least, as well as one would be without freaking out too much.), obviously he wasn't too happy to go as the heroine was left standing in front of them with an internal turmoil storming around inside her.

She smiled at him to make him feel better. "Don't worry, Adrien, Marinette told me that you'll be with her and your friends tomorrow, and I heard all of you would have fun!"

He nodded slowly, a giggle tumbling out of his lips that it tinkled around them.

Without so much of a second thought, Ladybug merely landed a kiss on his forehead that he burst out laughing again, this time, she joined him quietly.

She directed her gaze to Nathalie, where the woman was staring at him with some awe on her face, before meeting the heroine's eyes when she started to speak. "I try what I can to change him back," Ladybug told her softly. "For now, he would be like this, acting and thinking like a kid, so I would suggest that you cancel any of his photoshoot appointments he would have for the next entire week," She watched him shuffling his feet, where his eyes was starting to droop with exhaustion. "After all, I don't think he can fit in any of those clothes now."

Nathalie stared at her for a while, before nodding slowly. "I see your point, I'll have to inform Mr Agreste about it," She glanced at the boy beside her, who was already leaning slightly against her legs that Ladybug swore her face soften at the sight. "I'm sure he would understand."

"I hope so," Ladybug agreed, taking out her yo-yo. "Adrien would be spending his time tomorrow with a classmate of his, Marinette Dupain-Cheng," She was curious why there was a sudden flash of guilt on Nathalie's face before it disappeared entirely. "And she'll take him back home when the day is done."

Nathalie straightened herself, causing Adrien to snap his eyes open at the movement, before a yawn took over his actions. "It would do better if he comes back home at nine," The monotone crept back into her voice, and Ladybug was impressed at how fast she could switch her expressions. "No sooner than that."

Ladybug nodded. "I'll tell Marinette," Then, she crouched down to his level, giving him a small smile. "Hey," He smiled shyly at her. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

He nodded, giving a small wave. "Bye-bye, Ladybug."

With one smooth kiss on his hairline, she gave a nod towards Nathalie, before jumping off to leave.

She landed on one of the pillars of the gates, hiding herself from the front door as she took a peek at them. She was surprised to see that Nathalie had scooped Adrien up and brought him inside, his head resting on her shoulder with his arms wrapped around her neck, looking fast asleep.

With a satisfied smirk, she bounded off again, making her way towards the police station where Adolescent was kept hostage.

Crouching on a streetlight across the building, she took out her compact again and tried dialing for Chat.

"Come on, Chat," She muttered, tapping her knee impatiently as she heard the line ringing. "Where are you?"

When he didn't answer (There was even a _voicemail_ for god sake), she slid the compact closed with a loud snap, a sigh breaking out of her lips as she jumped down, her feet landing on the pavement lightly.

"He better have a good reason why he won't answer my calls," She muttered to herself, pushing the door of the station open. "I just hope he's not in some sort of trouble."

Making her way towards the counter, where the late night officer, a quite young looking man in his twenties, was on his shift while going through some papers and not noticing her coming in, where Ladybug had stood directly in front of him. When he still didn't notice her, she coughed lightly. "Uh, sir?"

He looked up with tired lines marring at the the corner of his eyes. They immediately widen when he saw one of the Paris heroes standing there, and he frantically stood up looking embarrassed. "Ladybug! I'm sorry I was," He gestured to the scattered papers before he straightened up, clearing his throat. "How can I help you?"

"I was wondering whether Adolescent is awake, I'd like to see her if she is, to change her back to normal," She explained as the officer tidied up some of his mess.

He shook his head. "She's out cold, and we locked her in one of the cells to prevent her from doing anymore harm, handcuffed her as well," He scratched his chin when she gave him a bewildered look. "She turned an officer into a toddler just now, and some of us had to handcuff her hands at her back. After some time, she managed to cool down and immediately fell asleep."

Ladybug sighed softly, tempted to rub her face tiredly. "Alright, I'll visit her another time, probably tomorrow, and I'll come earlier if I can," She nodded towards the officer. "Thank you, officer."

He smiled politely. "Just doing my job, miss."

With that, she turned around and went home, where her bed made a calling towards her as she zipped through the night, but her mind still buzzing with the events of the day and the odd silence from Chat.

She pursed her lips as she landed on her balcony, latching open the trap door before she slipped in, landing on her bed with a soft thud. When she released her transformation, she glanced at Tikki worriedly.

"I'm getting worried, Tikki, Chat hasn't been answering my calls for the whole day and I can't exactly visit him since I don't even know where he lives," She made her way down the stairs, grabbing her towel and pyjamas at the cupboard. "Is he busy? Is he alright?" Suddenly, she froze, swivelling towards the kwami with her eyes widen in horror. "Do you think he got turned into a toddler like the rest of them?"

"I don't know, Marinette, but I'm sure he's fine somewhere, even if he got turned into a toddler," Tikki offered as she floated in front of her charge, giving her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about it, you'll just get ready for bed and we'll talk about this tomorrow."

Marinette groaned, rubbing her eyes with the heel of her hand before a sigh was released. "You're right, he's probably just busy," She winced slightly as she made her way to her bathroom. "I hope."

* * *

Once the door was closed, Tikki flew to the chaise at the other side of the room, where she poked the pillow with a hand.

"I know you're there, Plagg," She crooned, giving the pillow another good poke. "I can feel you."

At first, there wasn't any indication that said she was heard, until the pillow jostled slightly and Plagg poked out his head from under the cushion, a groan could be heard. "Finally," He grumbled, his whiskers twitching with the slightest bit of annoyance. "I was waiting in here _forever_."

Tikki gave him an amused look. "You didn't attempt at getting a cheese bun for yourself?"

He snorted, coming out from his hiding place and settled himself on the cushion. "Of course I did, there were a lot of days old buns down there and they were delicious ," She rolled her eyes. "And since that nitwit got himself changed into a tiny human, he can't exactly give me any cheese now, can he?"

"Your boy?"

He scoffed. "Yes, _my boy_ ," He let out a belch. "We didn't get a chance to find a place to transform and got cornered by that wretch, and then he got hit when Ladybug decided to jump in front of us when that akuma was shooting blasters at her from her hand."

She winced. "Sorry."

"Not your fault," He snickered. "Seeing Adrien being turned into a small child is amusing."

Then, something clicked inside her mind. "Wait, if he's shrunk, what happened to the miraculous?"

Plagg reached under the pillow and dragged out the white ring, where Tikki let out a sigh of relief, before frowning in confusion. "It didn't shrink."

He shrugged. "It's immune to the akuma's power, which is a relief because I get to keep an eye on it," He met her eyes. "And I want you to keep it until Adrien turns back to normal."

She blinked. "Are you sure?"

"I can't exactly carry this everywhere I go, Tikki, and just tell your charge that I asked you to keep an eye on it, since I have to go into hiding," He licked his lips as a grin made itself seen. "And help dispose of those old cheese buns."

"You didn't even ask me," She rolled her eyes again, before taking the miraculous from him. "Fine, but she'll be upset though," She trailed off, running a hand across the edge of the ring. "At least she'll know that Chat is safe, and won't exactly wonder where he is."

"She doesn't have to worry, he's closer to her than she thinks," He cackled lowly.

She gave him a stern look, before bursting into giggles at his stupidly self satisfying look. "You never get tired of this game, do you?"

"Both of them making a fool of themselves on either sides of the mask while we sit back and watch?" He cackled again.

" _Never_."

* * *

Marinette kept glancing at the stairs, where she kept thinking about the ring that was placed neatly in her jewellery box and safe from prying eyes.

Tikki told her the moment she woke up about Chat's condition and where he was unable to contact her because he too, was turned into a toddler. She was told that his kwami came and asked Tikki to take care of it, for fearing it would go into the wrong hands.

Despite the reassurance Tikki kept telling her, Marinette was still worried though, she hoped that he was at home in safe hands.

Pursing her lips, she forced herself to focus on her work at hand, where three of her friends were busy cutting the flattened dough with cookie cutters, their faces full of concentration that she giggled at the sight, sneakily taking a photo of them with flour powdered on their faces and small aprons she had given them to wear.

"And done!" Alya announced as she admired her work, a grin stretched on her face from where she was kneeling on the stool. "Mine are all hearts and stars."

"Ours are dinosaurs and cars!" Nino waved his dinosaur shaped cutter to prove a point. "And we're almost done."

She leaned forward to have a look, and the grin was still there. "Cool."

"I'm done." Adrien called out, putting his cutter to the side.

"Not fair! Mine's not finished yet!" Nino pouted, and quickly cut at the empty space of the remaining dough.

Thank god for blunt cookie cutters.

Marinette chuckled. "Whoa there, tiger, easy on the cookies," She patted his head, where he didn't pay any mind as he moved to another space to cut more. "After this, we'll do the icing, okay?"

That seemed to perk all of them up. "Yay!"

Once all of the uncooked cookies were put into the oven, she turned around to face them, where they were throwing the last bit of flour at each other, giggling as they ran around the room.

Marinette felt her heart lifted at the sight, seeing her friends so carefree as their younger selves. An idea bloomed in her mind and she crouched down beside the island, waiting for one of them to come near her as a chuckle escaped her lips. She heard the frantic patter of feet coming her way, and just as they were passing by, she scooped Nino up with a burst of laughter, causing the toddlers to shriek as Alya bumped into Adrien's back.

" _Nooooooo_!" Nino waved his arms and legs in the air, giggling madly. "Let me gooooooo!"

"No way," Marinette laughed. "You guys are making a mess of my kitchen, and I'm not letting you get away with it," She flashed the other two a grin, to which they shrieked again as Alya grabbed Adrien's hand started to run away from her. "Hey! Get back here!"

Nino wiggled in her hands. "Nooooooo! Don't leave me here alooooooone!"

Marinette put him down with a grin, and he immediately shot off like a rocket as he laughed jovially. "Can't catch me!"

She shook her head, before she went to the fridge and started to hum, pulling out the readied icing she made earlier. "Oh well," She crooned, loud enough for them to hear. "It looks like I'll be the one making the cookies, and eating them all," She paused, where there was faint giggling somewhere outside the kitchen and a grin stretched across her face. " _Alone_."

"No way!" Came Adrien's voice, and he then stood at the entrance of the kitchen with a determined look on his face, crossing his arms in hopes to look intimidating past all those flour that managed to splatter on his cheek and forehead. "You have to share, that's the rule."

She hummed, closing the door of the fridge with a bump of her hip, holding four colours of icing bags in her hands. "Well, if you're not helping, I'll just have to eat them all."

He looked so strangled at the thought that she prevented herself from giggling, and instead wiggled her eyebrows at him. "That's not fair!"

She merely shrugged.

"I'll help!" Alya suddenly popped up behind him, with Nino in tow.

"Me too! Me too!"

She smiled. "The cookies are not done yet, how about we clean the kitchen a bit and then we'll watch some TV?"

At their enthusiastic nods, they went to work, and Marinette took a few more photos of them working together, and one of them where Alya's hair managed to slap the boys in the face as Adrien and Nino tried to spat it out. Another was the three of them drawing moustaches and whiskers on each others faces with the remaining flour, and Marinette got herself some spots on her face, courtesy of Adrien himself.

She giggled, tapping his nose with a flour covered finger that his face scrunched up at the touch.

 _So cute._

"I see that all of you are enjoying yourselves," Sabine voiced out from the door, a smile on her face.

Marinette stood up, smiling sheepishly as she wiped her hands with a cloth. "Sorry about the mess, Mama."

Sabine chuckled. "At least you're cleaning up, so I'm not complaining much," She took a clean cloth from the counter, and started to wipe Alya in the face that the girl protested a bit. "But the kitchen looks like a war zone here."

She used the same towel to wipe Adrien's face, a fond smile taking over her features. "We had a little bit of fun just now," Once he was clean, she moved on to Nino. "The battle of flour bombs and the finishing touches of face painting," Once she was done, she shot him a grin. "There you go! Now, the three of you go get yourselves clean properly in my room," At once, they ran towards the stairs, all laughter and smiles. "Be careful when you're climbing the stairs!"

When she faced her mother again, Sabine watched at her in amusement that Marinette immediately busied herself by carrying the large bowls to the sink, avoiding her mother's eye when she knew she felt the slight blush spreading across her cheeks. "You're good at this."

Marinette cleared her throat as she started washing up. "Well, you and Papa taught me how to bake."

Sabine laughed, helping her wipe the island with a rag. "I meant taking care of the kids," Marinette hunched her shoulders slightly in embarrassment. "You'll be a great mother someday."

Not exactly a conversation she would want to have with her mother at the moment (she was only _seventeen_ , she had a lifetime ahead of her to have children of her own), but she couldn't back out of it now if she wanted to.

She was trapped.

Marinette coughed slightly. "Thanks, Mama, I think."

"Oh, theres no need to be so embarrassed about it! You have a gift with children," Sabine moved on to the counter, dragging the rag across the surface. "It's a good thing, because some people don't know how to handle children, and had to take classes for that. But you, my child," Marinette glanced towards her, where she gave her a wink. "Are a natural."

So. Very. _Embarrassed_.

" _Mama_."

"What?" Sabine laughed as she bumped her daughter in the hip. "It's true."

"Yeah, but," She let her mother take over the faucet to rinse the rag. "I'm just _babysitting,_ it's nothing big _."_

"And one of the few ways to get yourself used to children," Sabine answered smoothly with a small smirk.

"They're my friends being turned into children," Marinette pointed out as she started rinsing the bowls.

"They're still children."

She shook her head in quiet disbelief, a smile edging on her lips. "Yeah, they are."

"Who knows, once they turn back to normal, you'll marry one of them."

She almost dropped the bowl.

" _Mama!_ "


	4. Part 4

A/N: I'm changing the rating a bit because this chapter has somewhat disturbing mentions of blood

This was supposed to be tooth rotting fluff what happened to it smh

* * *

Once they've cleaned up and decorated their cookies with icing and other colourful pearls and sprinkles, the three toddlers promptly fell asleep on the couch, the blaring TV did nothing to disturb them as their chests raised and fell rhythmically while they huddled together cosily with their thumb stuck into their mouths.

Once Marinette knew they wouldn't wake up anytime soon, she slowly rose from the couch to prevent it from jostling and made her way towards her parents' room, where her father just changed into a new shirt after baking a new batch of bread.

"Papa, I'll have to go out for a while, there's," She paused, thinking of ways to explain how she was going to have a little visit at the police station again to see Adolescent. " _Things_ , I, er, have to do and I really need your help in looking after my friends while I'm gone."

He straighten his shirt as he shot her a smile. "Alright, where are they?"

"Oh, they're asleep on the couch so there's nothing you have to worry about," She gave Tom a kiss on the cheek and sprinted towards her room. "Thanks, Papa, bye!"

Closing the trap door, Tikki immediately zoomed towards her from where she was lounging on the chaise, where Marinette gave her a nod. "Let's go, Tikki."

Then, Ladybug bursted out of Marinette's room and swung into the city, making her way towards the police station as the afternoon air whipped her hair back, the sun shining on her brightly as the city of Paris soared beneath her with grace.

When suddenly, out of nowhere, a beam of green light was inches from hitting her face that she yelped out in surprise.

She lost her balance for a while that her yo-yo didn't managed to wrap it around the lamp post she was aiming for, and tumbled on the ground until she rolled into a crouch. When she looked up, her eyes widen to see Adolescent standing in the middle of the road with a malicious grin stretched across her face, one hand activated with her power.

"Well, well, isn't it Miss Bug," Adolescent taunted as she cocked her hip to the side. "Where's your sidekick? I was hoping that I'd see him this time, give him a few pats or so."

Ladybug stood up to her full height and shifted her body into a fighting stance, her face grim. "Adolescent, whatever Hawkmoth promised you, he's lying."

At once, there was a purple butterfly outlined on Adolescent's face, and her featured twisted into an ugly snarl as she raised her hand towards the heroine. "No, _you're_ the one who's lying, Ladybug. Now, give me the miraculous!"

Ladybug shot her yo-yo upwards and jumped into the air, narrowly missing the hit as she started to swing into a full arc, before coming towards the akuma with a smirk on her lips. "Come and get it."

Ladybug kicked Adolescent squarely in the stomach that the akuma was tossed to the side with a scream, crashing into a large window of a shop that glass shattered everywhere around her, where a few scratches scarred her skin. Wiping the blood off her cheek, Adolescent stood up and shot more beams of light towards Ladybug, her lips pursed into a thin line as the heroine kept dodging her hits.

"Stay still, you pest!" Adolescent growled, her hand following Ladybug as the red clad hero jumped onto a car, the civilians around them ran away from the fray as screams of terror broke out. "So that I can squash your little head once and for all."

"Careful, Adolescent, you're getting a little dark there," Ladybug was coming nearer towards the akuma without the other party realising it, and she hoped that it stayed like that for a moment longer as her eyes desperately tried to search for an infected object. "You don't want to be an emo, do you?"

That seemed to hit a nerve when suddenly Adolescent seemed to glow with green energy. "So _what_ if I want to be an emo? They're just black clothes, why can't anyone understand that!"

Ladybug had a split second to catch the glowing crystal Adolescent wore as a choker, just hidden behind the collar of her black leather jacket before Ladybug was hit fully in the chest, where she was thrown away like a doll that no scream tore out of her throat as energy sizzled around her body, before she landed painfully onto the rough street.

Groaning, she pushed herself to her knees, blinking away the black dots that invaded her vision as she tried to gain back her eyesight. She was surprised, however, to see that she was still the same and not turned into a toddler like the rest of those who had been hit.

"Huh, must be immune," She muttered as she stood wobbly to her feet, one hand pressed on her chest with a wince when she felt a dull ache on her sternum. It was surprising how she wasn't changed into a toddler, since she never thought the miraculous would actually shield her from akuma attacks ever since Chat had been hit numerous times and he was still infected by it. Somewhere or another, it could only mean that her miraculous was stronger (which she doubted, since both of their miraculouses were basically two sides of a same coin) or this particular akuma was just weaker.

The later made more sense even if it didn't feel like it.

She rubbed her chest with a wince. "Oh, that hurt."

" _What?_ " Came the screech of Adolescent in front of her, where she looked particular livid when Ladybug wasn't what she expected. "You were supposed to turn into a _baby!_ "

Ladybug raised an eyebrow. "You're the cry baby here, remember?"

With a squawk, she managed to miss the zooming ball of destruction when she pranced away.

With her lips pursed, she ran towards Adolescent, jerking to the side when another hit was aimed towards her, before she tossed her yo-yo forward and wrapped it around the akuma's torso, effectively bounding her in place before she fell on the floor with a scream.

Ladybug crouched in front of her. "Stay still, I'm going to turn you back to normal."

She was about to reach for the choker when Adolescent tucked her legs towards herself and slammed them into Ladybug's abdomen, tossing her into a car that she landed with a crash.

The strings became loose and Adolescent was free again, smirking at the blinking hero as she let out a two finger salute. "Catch me if you can."

Ladybug watched with horror as Adolescent leaped away, climbing to the top until she reached the chimney before she started to jumped from one building to another. Gritting her teeth, Ladybug got up to her feet and swung towards Adolescent, trying to catch up as the akuma moved with pace Ladybug didn't know she had.

Adolescent's laughter rang around them as Ladybug was getting closer towards her. With a burst of energy, Ladybug pushed herself from the bricked roof to give herself a boost, wrapping her arms around Adolescent's waist as they plummeted onto a balcony, and from the familiar plants and chair that sat place, Ladybug realised that it was her place.

"Stay still!" Ladybug shouted as she tightened her arms around Adolescent as they struggled on the ground, turning over potted plants and her chair alike that they scattered all over the ground, and at the back of her mind she grumbled that _she_ was going to clean up all of that mess. On an important note, Ladybug hoped that her friends were safe in the living room and not in her room, where there would be a chance that they could get hurt.

As if her luck had ran out, the glass of her trap door shattered when Adolescent slammed Ladybug onto it, pushing the both of them forward that Ladybug could feel the shard of glass scratching her back that she screamed in pain, before they tumbled onto her bed and fell onto the floor with a loud crash.

"Get off me!" Adolescent shrieked as she tried to kick off Ladybug above her, but the heroine was firm in her grip this time even if her back stung from the wounds, firmly sitting on Adolescent's lap as Ladybug gripped her wrists above her head.

There was a creak of her trap door being opened and when Ladybug glanced at it, where three children were watching her with wide eyes filled with amazement and some fear at the scene before them.

"Go down!" She croaked, shifting her weight so that she could press Adolescent's wrists harder to the floor that the girl snarled under her. "Get out of here!"

She didn't hear or watch them leave when she felt Adolescent tried to wiggle her way out, but Ladybug quickly grabbed the choker from her neck and threw it at the other side of the room, where it shattered into pieces that caused Adolescent to wail after it, and then, a black butterfly came flying out of the broken jewellery.

"I free you from evil," Ladybug muttered as she threw her yo-yo towards it, capturing it in her compact before a white akuma was released into the space of her room, and it fluttered innocently out of the broken window and left behind the mess it caused. She let out a breath of relief.

"Bye-bye butterfly."

Looking down, she saw there were no changes towards Adolescent, and Ladybug started to panic, since she didn't need to use her lucky charm this time and she didn't know any other way to revert everything to what it once was.

 _Touch her crystal and cleanse it_ , Tikki murmured in her mind.

Ladybug glanced down to make sure that Adolescent wouldn't make any indication that she was going to attack, and when she saw that the girl had her eyes closed from exhaustion, Ladybug quickly got up and made her way towards the crystal choker and crouched towards it.

She gingerly touched it with a hand as she ignored the burning of her scratches on her back. "Miraculous Ladybug."

Flashes of pink light burst out, making their way around Adolescent and out of her trap door, no doubt fixing back all the damage that was caused for the past few days.

 _Well done._

Standing up, Ladybug made her way towards the girl sprawled in the middle of her room, where she still had her eyes closed with her dark hair fanned out behind her as she breathed deeply, where it was obvious she was totally knocked out. The heroine crouched down and lifted the girl in her arms, grunting when she felt her back muscles stretched from effort.

She made her way towards the trap door, carefully walking down where her parents were standing fearfully at the end of the stairs, and to her relief, her friends were back to their normal ages, standing into a small circle as they murmured among themselves, their expressions etched with confusion.

All of them looked up when she descended down the stairs, eyes widen with horror as they saw the girl in her arms, and the fact that the famous superhero was in the house with them with cuts and blood that made themselves blatantly seen in front of them all. Ladybug shot them a weary smile. "I'm sorry about the mess, but I had to handle someone up there to prevent anymore accidents."

"Are you alright?" Sabine questioned worriedly as she raked her eyes over the two of them, and Ladybug was touched at how concerned all of them looked.

Ladybug tried not to wince as her miraculous gave out a warning, and quickly made her way out to leave. "I'm sorry, but I have to go."

She sprinted out of the shop and swung into the air, careful to hold onto the girl so that she didn't fall down as Ladybug made her way towards the police station like her initial plan before this.

Once she left the girl to the police and told them to call her parents, she quickly made her way home, dropping into the gaping trap door of hers that she was careful not to let the shards hurt her than she already was and landed on the edge of her bed, before somersaulting down to the ground, where she felt Ladybug's power stripped out of her the moment she crouched.

Tikki floated in front of her charge's face, worry clearly visible as Marinette sat down on the floor with a grimace. "Are you okay?"

Marinette reached out to touch her back, and jerked her fingers back when she felt her shirt was slightly wet with her own blood. She rubbed her fingers together that the redness spread around her digits and sighed. "I'll live."

"Marinette?"

Her head shot up when she saw Adrien staring at her from where he had opened the trap door, his eyes wide as they landed on Tikki, where the kwami was as frozen as Marinette was as Tikki stared back at him, before those green orbs were directed towards her again.

Before he could say anything, Marinette shot forward and clasped her hands over his mouth, her breaths coming out heavily through her nose to calm herself down as he stared at her in shock.

"Not a word."


	5. Part 5

A/N: Apparently, this is going to be a reveal fic wow, and I'm not sure how many chapters I'm not doing just yet, maybe a couple more or so before I wrap it all up

AYY LET'S HAVE SOME LADRIEN FOR OUR SOULS

* * *

For the past few days, Adrien thought his life had been hectic.

'Hectic' was putting it lightly, he thought, mind blowing was more like it, or even disastrous if he tilt it more towards that side when he woke up on a white sofa with Alya on his right while Nino was on her left.

For 1), he realised with a start that he was in the Dupain-Cheng's household, where the three of them immediately jumped apart when they found themselves nestled together in front of the TV, their eyes wide as they stared at each other in shock.

2) was the fact that Marinette's parents were staring at the trap door that led to her bedroom fearfully in silence, where there was something eerie about the quietness around them that made Adrien looked up to the door as well, as if a second before he woke up, something bad happened up there.

3) was when he glanced down to his hand, he found out his ring wasn't there and Plagg wasn't in his pockets when he patted them. Then, panic was starting to settle in fully that he forced himself to stay calm.

He felt disoriented after finding out that he had been transformed into a toddler for the past few days, and the only reason he knew he was one was because he _remembered_ , at least, some of it, though for some odd reason his memory wasn't clear about it. He remembered he ran a lot when he was in that small body if his, and shouting, probably having fun with Alya and Nino from the looks of it.

And there were some kisses though, on his forehead or cheek, but he didn't know who was giving him all the affection when he tried to dig deeper.

And 4), Ladybug just came down from Marinette's room with a girl passed out in her arms. He felt guilty when he saw how her red suit was torn slightly with scratches as a cut ran across her cheek, where there was blood on it too.

He felt the guilt weighing on him more when she made a hasty retreat out, where he saw more scratches on her back that her blood was almost non existent from where it camouflaged with her suit.

And to think, he wasn't there to help her take care of the akuma.

He wanted to beat himself up for being such a useless partner.

"Wow," Alya muttered, her eyes widen almost comically as she stared after the heroine. "That must be one hell of a fight."

"Oh man," Nino winced. "That looks really painful."

Adrien merely pursed his lips as the horrible feeling churned in his stomach.

Then, when they were crowded by Marinette's parents, Adrien heard a faint thud above him. He glanced at it suspiciously before he excused himself to walk up the stairs, where the moment he latched it open, he saw Ladybug landing on Marinette's bed.

He was about to call out to her when she jumped down towards the floor, and half-way through, her transformation slipped off.

And crouching in the middle of the room was none other than Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

He could feel his jaw hanging as his heartbeat sky rocketed when he saw her kwami fluttering worriedly over her, their murmurs unheard from him since he was still in shock over the fact that his _Lady_ was also his _Princess_.

And that they had been partners for four years and yet he was only noticing it now.

The temptation of beating himself up was getting stronger at the minute.

"Marinette?"

Both Marinette and the kwami froze, staring at him in horror before he had a split second to collect himself when she suddenly slapped her hands over his mouth, her face filled with fear as he stared back at her.

"Not a word."

Definitely, _completely_ , mind blowing the day was.

As if she was burned, she jerked her hands back, where suddenly a flush took over her features as she backed away, but he noticed she tried to hide her wince from him as she carefully settled back on the floor, her kwami floating next to her with its big blue eyes trained warily on him.

He trailed his eyes towards her cheek, widening when he saw the same cut he noticed on Ladybug just now before snapping them towards her back, where she concealed his view of the wounds he saw on the heroine as she sat in front of him directly, her eyes not meeting his own.

"A-adrien," She managed to let out that he forced his attention towards her face, where she kept switching her gaze from the floor to him nervously. "Are you alright?"

He realised, bleeding as she was, she _still_ asked about his well being first than actually treating herself, and that made a pang of affection spread around him more.

"You're bleeding," He stated, and she pursed her lips into a straight line.

"Y-yeah, uh-"

"Adrien?" The blond looked down to where Alya and Nino were staring up at him. "Are you okay, man? You found anything?"

Adrien shot a look towards Marinette, where the girl's eyes widen when she heard Nino's voice. He smiled at her in reassurance before looking down again.

"Ah, nothing much, everything's normal up here." _Far from it._

"Are you sure?" Tom pressed as he stood beside them, a small frown marring his features. "Sabine and l heard the fight, and it was as if something broke in there."

"Uh," Dumbfounded, Adrien looked up, only to see bright blue eyes as Marinette sat near enough that he was able to hear what she had say but the people below him weren't able to see her.

"Meet me at your house," She murmured, surprising him by the way she didn't stutter like she did a moment ago. "We'll talk there."

His eyes darted around her face. "Are you sure?" He muttered questioningly. "You're still hurt."

She gave a faint smile. "I'll manage."

"Adrien?"

Startled, he looked down again. "Nothing's wrong, I'm sure," He grinned charmingly. "Don't worry about it."

He sneaked a look at Marinette again, where this time, he couldn't look away if he could as she stood up with determination on her face, where her kwami then flew in front of her. "Marinette, you need to rest."

She winced, whether from the truth of her kwami's words or the pain on her back, he wasn't sure. "But we can't talk here, Tikki, it's too risky," She took a deep breath, taking out a cookie from a tin on her desk before giving it towards the kwami, where she ate it gratefully.

Once she was finished, Marinette straightened herself up. "Tikki, spots on."

He watched with amazement as the kwami -Tikki- flew into her earrings like Plagg did into his ring when he transformed into Chat Noir, and standing there in the middle of the room was none other Ladybug.

He didn't dare ask her about his ring just yet, whether or not she knew where it went.

He was hit with realisation that she _didn't_ know he was Chat Noir, and only kept quiet.

Ladybug looked down to him, giving him a tight smile. "I'll see you later."

He nodded. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

Adrien didn't wait to watch her leave as he walked down the stairs, making his way towards his friends. "Hey guys, I need to go."

"What? Where are you going?" Alya demanded, resting her hands on her hips. "We need to discuss how we were literally turned into babies for _days_ and that I don't remember much about it."

He scratched the back of his head. "I, uh, had a call from Nathalie that I had to go home now, some business to go through and all."

"So soon?" He felt a trickle of guilt when he saw Sabine's downcast expression. "You just turned back! Surely she'd let you rest for a while?"

"Oh, you know how it is, work and all," He tried to laugh it off, his skin prickling with some sort of fidgety feeling at the thought that Ladybug, or rather _Marinette_ , was waiting for him already, where she could still be probably hanging onto something while in agony _oh god_ he needed to go _right now_.

The older woman clicked her tongue in disapproval at his words. "One day, I'm going to talk to your father about your schedule," She huffed, before giving him a smile. "Well, it was nice having you here, all of you, in fact," She smiled at Alya and Nino. "The three of you had fun with Marinette when she took care of you. Which reminds me," She gave her husband a glance, oblivious to the way Adrien stiffen. "Where's Marinette?"

"She said she had to do something for a while," Tom scratched his chin, his brows furrowing. "She didn't exactly say _what_."

Adrien edged towards the door. "I'll let myself out now, thank you so much for everything you did for the past few days. And Mr and Mrs Dupain? Marinette's window actually shattered and there's glass all over her bed and floor, I just realised that after a while of looking around," He gave a wave. "Bye and thank you!"

He was sprinting his way down when he felt a hand grabbed his arm, and when he looked up, he saw Nino giving him a look. "Man, I know you just lied your ass out of this when Nathalie definitely did _not_ call you," Adrien winced lightly. "But all I know is that, whatever you're doing, I'm going to let you go and do your thing, but we _are_ going to discuss this mess with Alya _and_ Marinette once you're done, capeche?"

Adrien nodded, shooting his best friend a grin. "Purr-fectly."

Nino snorted, detaching his fingers. "Unbelievable," He waved his hand dismissively as he trudged back up. "See ya."

"See you later, Nino!" Adrien tossed he words over his shoulder as he ran towards his house, which wasn't far from the bakery and he was already there in a matter of minutes. After frantically pressing on the buzzer and responding to Nathalie's mild irritation, he sprinted in the moment the gates swung open, and went straight to the entrance.

Bursting in, he saw Nathalie jumping at the sudden loud sound as he went up the stairs two at a time, worry occupying his mind at the thought of Marinette hurting just outside his window.

"Adrien, what-?"

"Sorry, Nathalie, I gotta go!" Came the short reply as he skidded in front of his room, and again, bursting it open.

He didn't see her hanging outside of his large windows, and cautiously went to them, unlocking one and swinging it open that he was hit with a brush of breeze, his eyes searching for any red clad superhero.

Until, she slid down from where she hang down upside down on her yo-yo, clutching on the string as she gave him a guilty grimace. "Hi."

Tampering down the heat that threatened to spread across his face, he quickly grabbed her offered hand and pulled her in, where he immediately wrapped his arms around her when she collapsed onto him, whimpering out in pain as she did so.

"Ladybug?" He questioned worriedly as he felt the way she clutched onto his arms tightly, a sheen of sweat on her forehead. "Can you walk enough to sit on my bed?"

She nodded, before he guided her towards it, where she slowly lowered herself down. "Thank you, Adrien," She sighed as he sat down beside her.

He nodded. "No problem."

There was silence for a while as she got herself comfortable, and he tried not to fidget in her presence as she almost reluctantly let go of his hand, and instead let one touch her back, where she inhaled sharply.

"So," She started before he could say anything about her obvious discomfort, where she deliberately avoided his eyes as she stared at her lap. "You saw that, huh? That I transformed back?"

"Yeah," He blurted out, before worrying his bottom lip. "You're Marinette."

She laughed slightly, some disbelief could be heard. "I am."

There was another stretch of silence, and her grimace was getting more obvious that he jumped out of his bed, startling her in the process as he made his way towards his wardrobe. "I have some first aid kit here, in case of, you know, emergencies and all that could happen anytime, not that I usually get myself into that kind of trouble or anything but, you know," He squeezed his eyes briefly as a cringe almost passed through his body, noting the way how he was actually _babbling_ in front of her. "Just in case." He finished lamely.

When he sank back on the bed, Adrien met her eyes, where she was staring at him curiously. Again, he was caught off guard at how blue her eyes were and saw the way freckles splashed across her nose. "If it's okay," He began softly. "I need you to let go of your transformation, so that I can clean your cuts."

She blinked at him, before looking away with a streak of pink gracing her across the bridge of her nose that her mask covered most of it, but nonetheless, that didn't stop the glee that ignited in his chest, since Ladybug had never acted this way around him when he was Chat Noir, and that some of Marinette's shy tendencies started to leak through the Ladybug demeanour. "Okay," She took a breath. "Tikki, spots off."

With a burst of pink light, the red suit slowly disappeared, and Marinette sat beside him, with her gaze directed towards her clenching hands, small and dainty and yet had taken down more akumas than he could count, and he had the sudden urge to wrap his hands around them.

Oh boy.

Bad, _bad_ Adrien.

This was not the time to think about holding her hands while she was bleeding in your room.

He lightly touched her shoulder, where she looked up in surprise. "I'm sorry if this is, uh, weird, but," He cleared his throat, trying to keep a straight face and not combust at the spot. "But I need to see your wounds so that I could clean them properly."

She blinked at him, her face turning beat red. "Y-you mean...?"

He felt his own face burning. "Yes?"

She bit her lip, taking off her blazer before slowly turning around, where he directed his gaze somewhere else when she started to take off her shirt.

There was a deep breath. "Okay."

When he looked down, he tried not to inhale too sharply when he saw shredded skin, where there was three five inches wounds that rested below her bra strap, lining horizontally as if she was scratched by a big cat, looking absolutely painful that he felt a wave of protectiveness for her.

He glanced at her face, where she was holding her shirt to her chest as one hand pulled her pigtails to the front to give him more access.

"I'll be right back," He went to his bathroom and filled a bowl he always kept when he would treat his own wounds with water and a towel, before carefully setting the bowl on the ground as he sat behind her. "This is going to sting a bit."

After dunking and twisting the towel to get rid of excess water, he gently wiped it around the wounds first to clean the blood, before dabbing gently onto the cuts.

She hissed lightly, and he let the towel hover above it as he glanced at her worriedly. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah," She croaked out. "Just, do your thing."

He worked in silence for a while, just washing away her blood as he started to apply some alcohol on those cuts, where she stiffen to prevent any sound from escaping from her mouth at the painful sting.

"Are you disappointed?"

Surprised, he looked up from his work to meet her eyes, but she was pointedly staring at the wall in front of her. "Disappointed?" He asked quizzically. "For what?"

"That Ladybug is me?" She pursed her lips, before looking at him at the corner of her eye.

He stared back at her. If he was completely honest with himself, no, he wasn't disappointed at all to find out that his Lady was also his Princess, his brave classmate who had stood up for so many people that he had admired that about her for a long while, where her determination never did cease his amazement whenever she set her mind into doing something she really wanted, whether it was for someone else or herself, it didn't matter because she _will_ get the job done.

Though sometimes, she can be as skittish as a kitten ( _ha_ ), wearing her emotions on her sleeve that she expressed her emotions freely without any obstacle to prevent her from doing so, and that fascinated him to no end because _he_ couldn't have that, he couldn't show himself as the boy who actually loved to sprout puns whenever chance he got, the boy who wanted to run around Paris and scream in joy at the top of his lungs in the middle of the night as the wind blew back his hair. No, he was an Agreste, his mask for the world was much more permanent than what he wore as Chat Noir, since his father wouldn't allow him to make such brash decisions.

So, was he surprised? Pleasantly so.

Did it made his heart pound because he was only starting to realise what Marinette meant to him was almost as much as Ladybug did for the past few years? Definitely.

Was he disappointed? Absolutely not.

He shook his head, a small smile appearing on his lips as he continued working. "No, why should I? You've been a perfect Ladybug for these last few years, why should I be disappointed that you're one of the most amazing people I know?"

He realised that he said much more than he needed and clamped his mouth shut, cursing internally at how his words didn't seem to filter out as they used to.

He felt a hand touched over his, and he saw the way she smiled shyly at him, her face as red as her alter ego. "Thank you, Adrien," She giggled, making his heart fly at the sound. "I'll keep that in mind."

He grinned back her, turning his hand over so that he could give her fingers a brief squeeze. "You're welcome."

Once he was done and applied some bandages on her back, he turned away respectfully as she wore her clothes, hearing the way the cloth rustles against her skin while the sounds of her pained grunts was making his fingers twitch, where he wanted to help her but didn't know _how_ without making it look like he was being a creep.

There was a flash of pink light and then he felt a hand on his shoulder, where he turned around to meet Ladybug, and she gave him a grateful smile. "Thank you Adrien, for doing this for me, I wouldn't have reached it if I could," To his surprise and pleasure, she reached up and kissed his cheek, before turning away with a cough. "Just keep this a secret between us and don't tell anyone, okay? Even if you bumped into Chat Noir."

He knew the last part was meant as a joke, but a thrill of excitement passed down his spine as a smirk flitted pass his lips. "Of course, I won't tell a soul," He crossed his heart for emphasis.

She chuckled, making her way towards his window. "I'll see you tomorrow, Adrien."

"Wait,"

He wrapped his fingers loosely around her wrists, a chance for her to pull away if she wanted to. When she didn't, he took a step closer. "Your mum told me that you took care of Alya, Nino and I when we were turned into toddlers," She blushed at that. "And I, ah, thank you for doing that, I just hope I didn't do anything embarrassing." He chuckled.

She smirked, before surprising him yet again by tapping his nose with a finger, where he scrunched it on reflex, causing a distant memory to glow at the back of his mind. "I have pictures," She winked, before climbing out of the window. "I'll show you three what ridiculous things you did!"

He gaped, before quickly moving forward to the window just as she was about to leave. "No way!" He laughed. "Just what happened?"

She laughed as well, and he grinned brightly.

"You'll see."

* * *

"I can't believe this, Tikki."

Marinette sat on her desk chair as she inspected Chat Noir's ring in her hand, turning it around to analyse every detail it had, and from what she gathered, it wasn't black like she always saw when they fought together, but rather a silver colour. "Adrien _knows_ ," She looked up to the kwami who sat on the desk, illuminated by the desk light behind her. "He found out I'm Ladybug, treated my wounds, and," Letting out a noise at the back of her throat, she hid her face into her hands. "He _knows_."

Tikki let out a tinkle of laughter. "You told me that for a few times already, Marinette."

"I know, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Heaving out a breath, Marinette dragged her hands down to meet Tikki's amused look. "It's just, he had to see what a mess I was after that fight with Adolescent, and the condition of my room," She glanced up to the window above her bed, now brand new after her parents briefly told her that Ladybug was fighting with the akuma in the room, and Adrien had told them about the glass being all over her bed and floor. Marinette feigned surprised by then, and when she asked where Alya and Nino was, Sabine told her they left.

"They said they'll see you tomorrow," Her mother told her with a hum. "And possibly wanting to ask you about their little transformation."

Good Lord, was her mother making _puns_ now?

Marinette made a face. " _Mama_."

Sabine laughed.

"Well, you were fighting a very angry akuma at the time," Tikki pointed out as she floated near her, settling herself on Marinette's shoulder as she nuzzled her charge's cheek. "And I'm glad that you're not seriously hurt."

Smiling softly, Marinette turned and gave Tikki a kiss on her head. "Thank you, Tikki, and now, about Chat's ring though," She held it up for both of them to see. "What am I going to do with it? I can't just _give_ it to him since I don't know who he is."

"You'll leave that to me," Tikki grinned, flying over as she plucked the ring from Marinette's fingers. "I'll give it back to Plagg, Chat Noir's kwami, and all will be alright. Don't worry about it."

Marinette gave a doubtful glance at the ring. "Are you sure, Tikki? You don't need my help?"

"Nope, I'll be fine," Then, Tikki tossed it back into the jewellery box, snapping the lid close. "Now, you have to get some sleep, you have school tomorrow, you know."

Chuckling, Marinette stood up, grimacing when she felt her back muscles stretched. "Ow, it still stings," Grumbling, she climbed the stairs. "I just hope it'll heal over the night, and the akumas would take a break after seeing that hustle I had with Adolescent," Once Tikki settled on the pillow next to her, Marinette gave her a smile. "Good night, Tikki."

"Good night, Marinette."

Once Tikki heard the even breathing of her charge, she quickly zipped towards the jewellery box and took out the ring, flying towards the chaise and landed heavily on the cushion. "Plagg!"

There was a snort somewhere as he poked his head out, giving her a glare. "You could've been more gentle, you know?"

"I didn't realised you deserve it," She deadpanned, before shoving the ring into his hands. "Now go, before your boy starts panicking and it won't do good to the rest of us."

He scoffed, adjusting his grip on the miraculous. "Knowing Adrien, he's probably pacing in his room right now."

"All the more reason you should go."

"What? No goodbye kiss?" He snickered.

Tikki gave him a bemused look. " _Plagg_."

"Come on, Tikki, you're the one who's always wanted for them to find out, why the sudden secrecy?"

"I want them to find out on their own, not with our help, there's a difference between that," She shook her head slightly, a small smile appearing. "Go on, alley cat, your kitten is waiting."

* * *

"Plagg!"

Adrien quickly opened the window when he saw him floating in front of it with his ring, where the kwami immediately collapsed onto Adrien's cupped hands.

"Cheese!" Plagg gasped as Adrien brought him to his chest. "I need Camembert! I've been deprived of them for _days!_ "

Quickly, Adrien settled Plagg on his desk and took out a small tin of emergency stash of cheese from his top drawer, where he gave Plagg a slice that the kwami devoured it the moment he sank his claws into it.

Adrien sank into his chair in relief, slipping on the ring that he was happy to feel the familiar weight again around his finger. "Where have you been?" Adrien looked down the kwami. "Since you can't have just wondered around with the miraculous that everyone would see."

Plagg licked his lips as he finished it and helped himself to another. "I was with Ladybug."

Adrien almost dropped from his chair. "You _what?_ "

"Don't worry, she didn't know I was at her place."

Adrien stared at him with a flabbergasted look on his face. "You were at the _bakery?_ This whole time? And she didn't even _notice_ you?"

"Nope."

"B-but," Adrien stuttered, his mind reeling. " _How?_ "

Plagg snorted. "I hid myself out of sight, _duh_."

Adrien hesitated. "So, she doesn't know I'm Chat Noir?"

"Nope."

"But does she know about the ring?" Adrien demanded, scooping up the kwami that Plagg let out a sound of protest. "Did she even have a look at it?"

" _Yes_ ," Plagg struggled in Adrien's grasp. "Now let me go and _eat_."

Plagg sat on the desk again when Adrien released him, taking a third serving. "You don't have to worry though, she won't suspect that you're the cat. Just act normal in front of her and you'll be fine."

Adrien ran through his fingers through his hair. "I found out that Ladybug is Marinette, how am I going to face her during patrols later? She doesn't know _I'm_ Chat Noir," He bit his lip. "I might do something stupid."

Plagg snorted. "Then, _don't_ do something stupid," There was a pause as he gobbled down the cheese. "Unless, you _want_ her to know who you are."

Adrien let out a sharp breath. "I _do_ , but she doesn't want Chat Noir to know her identity, and I have to respect that."

"Ladybug didn't want Adrien Agreste as well as whole of Paris to know who her identity is," Plagg pointed out with a belch. "But then, here you are."

"It was an _accident_ ," Adrien rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hands. "I didn't know she was going to just drop into the room and transformed," He groaned as he slapped his hands onto his face. "What have I _done?_ "

Plagg shook his head, leaning back as he let out another belch. "This is why I only choose cheese, less problems, less accidents."

Adrien glared at him through his fingers. "That's all you care about."

Plagg hummed. "True."

Sighing, Adrien leaned back on his chair, staring emptily out of the window. "You think I should tell her?" Then, an idea seemed to snapped him out of his gloomy thoughts as he straightened himself, a bright look on his face.

Plagg stared at him warily. "I don't like that look."

"What look?" Adrien mumbled distractedly.

" _That_ look, like you're thinking something where disaster would only agree to. Your 'I'm going to do something stupid' look."

Adrien met his eyes innocently. "I don't know what you're talking about, but I do need your help though."

"No."

"You don't even know what it is."

"I don't have to," Plagg huffed. "I can see the way how those wheels in that brain of yours work, and usually, I don't like it."

"Come on, Plagg," Adrien pleaded. "It's harmless."

Plagg gave him a deadpanned look. "You're going to visit her, are you? As Chat Noir?"

"Tomorrow."

The kwami let out a bark of laughter. "Yeah kid, but no."

"Why not?"

"It'll be a mistake, that's what," Plagg snapped as he flew towards the bed, slumping on the pillow. "Go to sleep, I don't want you bone tired if we had to fight an akuma tomorrow."

Adrien watched the way Plagg curled himself into a ball, before he stood up with a sigh and made his way to his bed. "Fine," He finally relented. "Fine."

"Good," Plagg grumbled. "Now, _sleep_."

Adrien rolled his eyes as he slipped into his covers. "Good night, Plagg."

Inaudible mumbling was his only response.

But as Adrien lay in his bed that night, dreams of blue eyed girls and raven hair finally mingled into one, where all the troubles he felt before this disappeared that his heart felt lighter at the thought.

He was so going to visit her tomorrow.


End file.
